Tuesday, September 04, 2012

R. Crumb on Ward Kimball

Amid Amidi recently posted this picture of (L to R) Robert Armstrong, Ward Kimball and R. Crumb on the blog 365 Days of Ward Kimball. If you're interested in Crumb's thoughts on Kimball, you can go here and scroll down. Crumb also comments on Matt Groening and Ralph Bakshi on the same page. You'll have to scroll down to find them, but he also talks about Winsor McCay and Walt Disney, among many other people of note outside animation.

Though some of what Crumb says about Kimball is all over the place (if Kimball really had that kind of leverage over the comedy of the Disney cartoons, they would have been significantly different), I agree that for all the proclaimed individuality, Kimball was a company man - though an intelligent one who knew how to play the game his way. I eagerly await Amid's book.

And nice to see Crumb prove Bakshi right - all he can muster is what a desecration FRITZ THE CAT is, and only a broad, sweeping sentence about how Bakshi failed as a filmmaker. The "sputtering rage" Crumb speaks of can be read in the FRITZ chapter of the Bakshi UNFILTERED art book.

I found it interesting although I disagree with him about Chris Ware. Maybe his sketchbooks are more interesting, but that Acme Novelty Library just always seemed really lazy to me, and to highlight the limitations of the "graphic novel." Well, in fact I liked Crumb's published sketchbooks and the documentary Crumb but don't care much for his other work.

It's strange what he said about Herge, too, when I never thought it was ever supposed to be anything other than straight-ahead adventure, while beautifully drawn.

Strange, too, what he said about Barks - who I thought was far more respected in Europe than the U.S.

About Me

I've worked as an animator, writer, producer and director in TV animation for 29 years. I created the cgi series Monster By Mistake.
I hold a Masters degree from York University in Cinema and Media Studies and am currently teaching animation at Sheridan College.
I can be contacted at mark(dot)mayerson(at)sheridancollege(dot)ca.